When You're Gone
by Surgery-Girl
Summary: Meredith was used to getting hurt by the people she loved. But for the first time, she didn't think she would end up hurt. She was wrong. It with be an MerMark story.
1. Walking Away

_**I figured… I have two MerAlex on this site. I might as well have two MerMark… even though I already have two on another site… so I actually have four MerMark fics… but oh well. **_

_**Disclaimer: **__**I don't own Grey's Anatomy though if I did… We would have A LOT more McSteamy and McDreamy in towels. There is nothing wrong with McDreamy and McSteamy in towels. But anyway… I don't… it truly sucks. **_

_**Full Summery: **__**Meredith Grey was used to getting hurt by everyone she loved. Her mom, her dad, Derek… and so many more. But just when she thought, she might not get hurt this time. She does and it hurts. Everything happens all at once. It's eventually a MerMark fanfic. Slightly in the future. **_

Everyone watched as she walked down the hall. Her hands were at her side. Her eyes were distant and tear-filled. They all could tell that her world was falling. They all watched frozen holding their random objects in their hands as if they had somewhere to go but they all stopped to watch. They didn't know the full story, yet, but they watched and whispered filling in the blanks with speculation and lies. In the end, those lies and speculations came around and hurt someone. With every lie and every speculation, Meredith hurt worse.

They had all witnessed tears and the pained looks as she carried on the day, but today she walked the hall as if there was nothing to live for. It made the gossiping nurses become silent. It made people's hearts break. It had her friends feel helpless.

She walked down the hall and didn't even realize most of the hospital was watching, plastered against the walls. Eyes traveled with her as she got further down the hall. Derek stood back and watched the woman he broke, a year ago, break again. The only differences were the person doing the breaking and how quickly she fell. Izzie, Christina, Alex, and George all watched and couldn't move. This time… they couldn't help her.

The rain pounded the sidewalks and roads of Seattle all day that day. The thunder sent loud bangs rumbling down the halls of Seattle Grace. The lightning lit up the dark skies. The sliding doors slide open as Meredith walked towards them. She doesn't stop walking as she crosses over into the cold air of Seattle. Chilled breezes sweep through the hall, but nobody moves. The rain soaks into her clothes but she still didn't stop walking.


	2. That day

The day seemed to replay over and over in her head.

_She groaned as she walked out of the bathroom. She wiped her mouth and sunk down into her bed as tear rolled down her cheeks. There was a quiet knock at the door. She didn't answer. She didn't have the strength. The door slowly opened and Alex walked in. His boxers were hanging low on his hips and he squinted to see. The bed side light was on and he was not ready to face the light. _

"_Mere? Are you okay?" He said in a tired voice. He knew she wasn't okay. She hadn't been okay since the day Mark left Seattle. Meredith was quick to wipe her tears and look at him. _

"_Yeah," Was all she could get out. He walked in and sat beside her on the bed. _

"_Are you feeling sick?" He asked noticing her appearance was… sick looking. He touched her head but she jerked away. _

"_I'm fine, Alex," She said quickly. "Go back to bed."_

"_Meredith, I heard you throwing up. I know you're not okay."_

"_I'm fine," She said more harshly this time. "Go back to bed!" _

"_Okay, okay," He said and walked to the door. The door shut behind him and she just let go and broke down into sobs. She pulled her knees up to her chest as she laid on her side._

_The alarm went off, pulling her from the restless sleep that she had been having for two weeks now… ever since he left. She got up and showered, after she emptied the contents of her stomach in the toilet. Then she and Alex headed to work. _

"_Twice?" Alex said glance at her. _

"_I'm fine, Alex. Stop worrying about me," She didn't remove her eyes from the road. _

"_I'm your friend. I have to worry about you."_

"_I like Evil Spawn better"_

"_I'm still Evil Spawn, Baby." He gave her a cocky smile and she rolled her eyes as they pulled into Seattle Grace's parking lot. They walked in silence to the locker room. _

"_I'm giving you a blood test," Alex said. "Don't pretend that you haven't been throwing up most of the week."_

"_No, Alex, I'm not doing a blood test," She stormed out to meet up with her other friends. _

_Later that day…_

_Meredith walked down the hall trying to keep her mind off the FORCED blood test Alex gave her. It had been nearly an hour and she knew they would be done soon. She knew it was just the flu but she couldn't shake this feeling that something else was up. Her pager went off scaring the sit out of her. She dropped the three charts she was holding to the floor. She bent down and picked them up before looking to see who was paging her. It was Alex. The moment of truth had come. She hurried off to room 4829 that she was paged to. _

"_So I have the flu?" She said as she pushed the door shut. Alex didn't say anything at first. She looked at him oddly. "What?" _

"_Mere…" He touched her arm. "You're pregnant."_

She opened her eyes and looked out on the body of water in front of her. She squeezed the metal rail tightly in her hands as she started to sob. Her legs gave out and she fell to the ground.

It was only about a half an hour before headlights shined her way. She didn't look up, barely even noticing that a car had pulled up. Alex got out of the car and grabbed an umbrella and ran out.


	3. Painfully reminded

"Meredith," Alex said, but got nothing in return. "Meredith?" She still said nothing or moved. He touched her arm and she jerked it away. "Mere, please come with me. You're going to get sick." He pleaded with her to come. "Please Meredith"

She still didn't move from the kneeling position she was in. He grabbed her arm and tried to get her to the standing position. He knees went weak and he had to drop the umbrella to catch her. He went to grab the umbrella, but it had already blown away. He picked her up into his arms. Her head fell limp onto his chest as he turned to get in the car.

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"How is she?" Izzie asked as Alex came down the steps.

"Warming up, sobbing, and not talking," Alex said.

"What happened today? Does anyone know?" Christina said as she put her hands on both sides of her head to keep her hair from falling into her face. Her elbows were propped up on her knees as she let out a long sigh.

"I don't know," Izzie sighed as she fell into the chair.

"She seemed to be… okay as you can be in the situation she is in… then she was a zombie." George said.

"Not exactly," Alex said quietly.

"What you know?" Christina said sitting up to look at him.

"Yeah…" Alex said and sat down. "I forced her to do a blood test because she's been sick. When I got the results I paged her…"

"_So I have the flu?" She said as she pushed the door shut. Alex didn't say anything at first. She looked at him oddly. "What?" _

"_Mere…" He touched her arm. "You're pregnant."_

_At first, it was like Meredith couldn't hear the words. She couldn't believe it or couldn't grasp it. _

"_Mere?" Alex looked at her knowing that this was going to be one of the hardest things to hear. "Mere?" She didn't answer just broke down in sobs. Her knees gave out and he caught her on the way down. She kept falling until her knees hit the floor. His arm was still wrapped around her waist as she fell forward so her head was on her knees. Her body shook with sobs and her breaths became short and gasping…_

"I stayed with her for a good twenty, thirty minutes until she stopped sobbing and asked to be alone. I reluctantly left. Ten minutes later, she came out after I left to see you guys. I wasn't going to tell you because… it's not for me to tell but after seeing her like this tonight… I don't think I couldn't not tell." Alex finished up the story and finally looked at their shocked faces.

"She… She's pregnant?" Izzie said quietly. Alex nodded and watched as Christina's eyes got wide in shock.

"Oh my god!" Christina said falling back on the couch.

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It wasn't until three am until Meredith emerged from her bedroom. She walked down the stairs quietly to see Alex asleep on the couch and George asleep on the floor. The girls were probably asleep in Alex's and Izzie's rooms. Even though it wasn't Izzie's room anymore. Not since she moved out a couple of months ago.

Her eyes were puffy, red, and hard to see through. She hadn't gotten any sleep yet and didn't think that she was going to any time soon. She walked into the kitchen slowly to get something to drink. She stopped abruptly in the doorway.

"_Good Morning, Babe," Mark said smiling at her from the table where he sipped his coffee. _

"_Morning," Meredith smiled at him and walked over giving him a tender kiss on the lips. _

"_You sleep alright?" He asked as she walked to the coffee pot. _

"_Yeah," She smiled at the memory of the sex they had had. _

"_Good… I'm glad I could supply." He said. _

"_Who said anything about you?" She giggled. He chuckled. _

"_You can't tell me that smile wasn't about the sex," Mark said with a cocky smirk. _

She tried shaking the thoughts from her head as she walked in to get something to drink. She bent down in front of the fridge.

"_Do you know you look so sexy today?" Mark's voice made her smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist even though she was bent over. _

"_Do I?" She said trying not to giggle._

"_Oh yes," Mark said with a grin growing across his face. She stood up and turned towards him. _

"_Really?" She smiled at him. "You could use some work." She kissed his cheek and walked off laughing. _

"_That hurt." Mark said as she walked out. "No you don't." He said and ran after her. She started to run around with him following. Her giggles filling the air._

She shook her head again and got a soda before walking out.


	4. Just tell me

"She's not coming today," Alex said as he adjusted his stethoscope around his neck.

"Did you expect her to?" Christina said.

"When did you guys leave?" He asked.

"Around five," Izzie answered. "We all had to go and change. Did you see her this morning?" He nodded. "How was she?"

"As good as can be expected which would be… bad. She's still in shock about the whole mothering thing. She wasn't crying when I left but you could tell she had been most of the night."

"This is bad," George said.

"No way, Bambi," Christina rolled her eyes. All their pagers went off. "The Chief?" They all nodded saying they had the same thing before walking off.

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She laid in the bed and looked up at the ceiling both of her hands resting on her stomach. She was trying to sort through the thoughts rushing through her head all at once. Her tear ducts had dried up and she could no longer produce the tears of her pain. So many thoughts and uncertainties came together in her head.

"_A mom? A resident? An intern-babysitting resident? I'm getting interns in a month. Great! How can I be a mother without Mark?" _She felt a tear run down her cheek. She lifted her hand and wiped it away. _"I miss him. Why did he have to go? Where the hell is he? I just want him to come back."_

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"Come in!" The Chief yelled from his desk. The door opened and the four residents he had paged came in. "Thank you for coming so promptly. Have a seat." Izzie and Christina took the chairs and Alex and George stood behind the.

"Um… Why are we here?" Christina asked.

"I want you to tell me what the hell is going on in my hospital?" The Chief said trying to stay calm.

"What do you mean, sir?" Alex asked.

"You know what the hell I mean," The Chief stood up putting his hands on the desk. His face red with anger. "I mean with Dr. Grey. What happened yesterday?"

"Dr. Sloan left only two weeks ago she's having a hard time." Izzie explained.

"Then what was so special about yesterday?" The Chief said sitting in his chair.

"We really aren't allowed to say, Chief. It isn't our place," Christina explained. "Meredith has to be the one to tell you, when she wants to."

"Damn it, Sloan." Chief muttered.

"She fell in love with him, sir. She's going to be hurt for a long while." Alex said. The Chief looked at them and nodded.

"You can go," He said receiving a nod, and they walk out. He put his hand on his head and sighed. "These people are going to be the death of me."

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The group of friends walked down the hall and they were beginning to notice the glances that followed them down the hall. The glances given by nurses and fellow doctors.

"What is it about these people?" Izzie whispered.

"I'm going to kill Sloan one day," Alex muttered.

"WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE LOOKING AT!?" Christina yelled and everyone immediately looked away. "Taken care of." They all laughed a little.

"Is everything okay with Meredith?" They looked up to see Derek. The jackass that had hurt their friend so many times. It's not like they were holding a grudge… okay, yeah, they were. Christina rolled her eyes and led the group the other way.

It was almost like one of those high school moments where Christina is the leader of the popular kids and the others were followers. And some loser asked them about their other leader, who he had a crush on since he was in the 2nd grade.

"Jackass," Alex muttered under his breath and purposely bumped into them.

"Why can't you guys just be mature and move on? I'm your boss now answer me." Derek said. As soon as those words left his mouth he regretted them. Izzie turned first with a fire in her eyes. The others turned as well.

"We can't move on because YOU CHEATED ON MERE!" Izzie yelled.

"You were SO mature that you couldn't be happy with what you got," George said angrily.

"And just because you're our boss doesn't me we have to answer to you on this. So take that excuse and shove it up your ass," Christina said loudly before they all walked off to take care of patients.


	5. McSteamy

Mark Sloan was often though of as a player. The most famous player in the hospital system of New York City. All the girls wanted to meet up with him in the on-call rooms. He lived up to the reputation all the time… until he went to Seattle to take up a position at Seattle Grace hospital. He did return and that made all the girls happy… until they found out how drastically he had changed. They flirted and made obvious attempts to get him to that on-call room. Nothing worked because Mark Sloan had changed.

He was sitting at the small table in his apartment looking down at a piece of paper. He sighed and tapped the pen on it as he looked up out of the window. It had been a month since he saw her and it still hurt. He could still hear her giggles. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. He got up and didn't bother to look before opening the door.

"Hey Stranger," The woman said with a smile.

"Nancy? What are you doing here?" He said and forced a smile as he kissed her on the cheek. He didn't smile much anymore and when he did… it was forced.

"How dare you not tell us you were in town? We had to find out from Derek!" Nancy said hitting his chest and walking in.

"Sorry…" Mark sighed.

"You've been here for a month and haven't bothered to call," Nancy said. "Mom was angry to say the least."

"You and I both know Mama Shepherd can't stay mad," He said and sat down on the couch.

"Yeah, you're right," She giggled and sat across from him. "So what made you pick up and leave Seattle?"

"Are you asking for Derek?"

"He said it had something to do with the slutty intern… I mean resident that you stole from him."

"I don't want to talk about it, Nancy," He growled. "And she's not slutty."

"Well, she can't seem to keep her hands to herself… so would you rather whorish?"

"What?"

"Well, she cheated on Derek with you,"

"That would be Addison. Derek cheated on her. We didn't start dating until 9 months later."

"What?"

"I don't want to talk about Seattle. I'm kind of tired. I'll call you tomorrow." He stood up. She looked at him before sighing and standing up. He kissed her cheek and she headed out.

He sighed and walked back into the bedroom. He laid back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Thoughts started to go through his head.

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"Good Morning, Dr. Sloan," Mark looked at his therapist.

"Good Morning," He nodded at him and settled into a chair.

"So let's talk about Meredith today," The therapist said. Mark took a second of thought before nodding. "Tell me about her."

"She's a doctor…back in Seattle. She's sweet and caring. She's not in the medical field for the fame or the money but because she actually cares about people. She's great." Mark said not picking his eyes off the floor.

"Do you love her?"

"Very much"

"Tell me about the last month. About your leaving." Mark was quiet for a couple of minutes.

"I left for her," Mark started. "I love her so I left her."

"What does that mean?"

"I am a manwhore. Plain and simple. A manwhore. I sleep with women then I ditch them. It's what I'm good at. But Meredith is different. She deserves better then that. I knew that I would screw up this like I screwed up everything else I've ever had going for me. She's been hurt so many times. I didn't want to do that to her. I couldn't. It takes a lot for her to trust herself let alone the people around her. I knew if she trusted me, I would fuck up. I was afraid. I've never been in love before. I was scared, okay? So I left and came back to New York. She probably hates me, right now. But, one day, I hope she will understand."


	6. Newfound Friendship

It has been a month since Mark left and two weeks since Meredith found out that she is pregnant. She is still having a hard time coping with it all. She had to return to work, but she still hadn't told anyone, nor planned to until necessary. People still gave her the "pitty looks" when she walked through the sliding doors of Seattle Grace. She still cried herself to sleep. And she still had doubts. She tried to push the thoughts aside for the sake of the baby. Even though she knew it was going to be hard as hell, she loves the baby, already. Today, she was going to go to work and find an OB/GYN. She had a couple in mind but wasn't sure who yet.

"Good Morning," Alex said as she walked into the kitchen. She gave a tired wave as she walked to the coffee pot. "Should you be drinking that?" She growled and shot him an evil glare.

"I haven't had coffee in two weeks. One cup… I'm sure will be okay." She said as she poured a cup. She wasted no time in drinking it. "Yum…"

"Whatever… Let's go." He ushered her out of the door and they headed to the hospital.

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_Later that day…_

Meredith got some down time and headed up to the OB floor. She had thought a lot about who to pick and she finally picked one…

"Dr. Montgomery?" Meredith said as she walked up behind Addison. Addison turned around.

"Dr. Grey? It's been a while since I've seen you up here," Addison said with a smile.

"Yeah, I… Can I talk to you… in your office?" Meredith asked.

"Sure," Addison said handing the chart to a nurse giving her a nod and leading Meredith to her office.

Meredith sat down in a chair across from Addison who was sitting behind her desk.

"Do you need a consult?" Addison asked. Meredith nervously toyed with her fingers.

"I know that was have had a… um bad relationship in the past and you probably hate me and you have every right to," She said quickly.

"Dr…. Meredith… I don't hate you. Quite the opposite, I think that you're a great woman."

"I need an OB/GYN."

"Who's the patient?"

"Um… me," She said quietly.

"Oh…" She sat back in the chair. "I'd be honored but if you don't mind me asking… why me?"

"Um," She let out a nervous laugh. "I… I, kind of, look up to you… and you're the best." Addison smiled at her.

"Even after all we've been through… I still think you're pretty great, Meredith."

"Um… Thanks," Meredith said quietly. "You too."

"How about this? We start over. Forget the bitter wife."

"The dirty mistress," Meredith said. Addison laughed a little.

"And we start over… as friends."

"Okay," Meredith said. "Friends."

"Friends," Addison said with a smile getting a smile in return. "If you don't mind me asking… Is Mark…?" Meredith nodded and her eyes filled with tears. Addison got up and sat beside her trying to soothe her.

"I miss him." Meredith said trying her best not to cry.

"I know," Addison said quietly.

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Addison flipped on the light switch.

"Go ahead and lay there," She said and Meredith did as she was told. Addison turned on the ultrasound equipment. "Let's see how far along you are. This will be cold." Meredith nodded. Addison squirted the cool gel onto her stomach causing her to shiver a little. Addison smiled at her before hitting a couple of buttons and using the paddle to find the baby.


	7. Below the Surface

"Um… Meredith?" Addison said quietly not removing her eyes from the screen.

"What?" She looks at her face. "What's wrong?"

"Meredith, you're having twins." Addison said and looked down at her. "See…" She looks back at the screen and points. "There's baby one and baby two."

Meredith sits there staring at the screen for a few minutes before she sits up. Her nose is red as she tries to hold back tears. She grabs the rag and wipes the gel off of her stomach and pulls down her scrub top.

"Thank you," She puts her finger under her nose. "I'll see you around." She backed up to the door and giving a forced smile before hurrying out. She walked down the hall trying not to show any emotions. She got on the elevator and pressed the forth floor button. The door shut and she stared at them. Then, it all sunk in. She hit the stop button and started to gasp for air as she walked back so her back was against the wall. She slid down it and started to sob.

"I need to stay strong," She said through sobs. "I can't!"

The alarm started to sound signaling that it had been stopped to long and it was assuming a technical difficulty. She quickly pressed it again and wiped the remained of tears as she pressed the 1st floor button. It opened at the 4th floor and Meredith was met with the eyes of Derek. She quickly looked at the ground as he stepped on not removing his eyes from her.

"You look sad," He said quietly a few seconds after the doors closed. She didn't say anything and blinked back tears. "You aren't going to answer me?" She still didn't even acknowledge that he was talking. He hit the stop button. She silently cursed the elevator for not going faster. Now she was stuck with him in between the second and third floors. "Mere?" She still ignored him. "Meredith."

"Start the elevator," She said harshly. He sighed defeated and hit it. The elevator doors opened and she walked out towards the main entrance. She needed to get away. She needed to think.

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She threw the car in park and walked into the building. She quickly brought a bathing suit in the sport shop in the lobby and changed in the locker room.

She pushed the door open and walked into the big room the smelled reeked of chlorine. It was deserted. Weather it be because it was the middle of the school/work day or the middle of fall in Seattle, she didn't know.

She didn't waste anytime and jumped into the big, Olympic sized pool. And she started to swim. Back and forth, down the lap aisles as she did when she was a child and teenager. She loved the water. It always seemed to make the problems of her life disappear. Under the surface of the water, everything was peaceful. Sounds seemed to blend in with the splashing of her arms breaking the surface with each stroke. Light seemed to be turned into a beautiful show against the blue patter on the bottom of the pool. She had done about six laps before she broke the surface in the middle of the pool. She gasped for air as she pushed the loose, wet strands of hair sticking to her face. Tears rolled down her cheeks and her shoulders started to shake as she broke into sobs.

It was like it all hit her. Like until now the word twins had no meaning. Now, she wasn't only going to be a mother, possible a single mother, of not one but two babies.

Ten minutes had passed and she was still standing in the middle of the pool with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Ma'am?" A voice caused her to jump. She turned around to see a young strawberry-blonde hair boy standing there with a big tube rolled up in his hands. "Are you alright?"

She nodded and wiped her eyes. "Thank you." She walked towards the stairs and wrapped up in a towel before walking out.


	8. Information

"Where'd you disappear to today?" Alex asked as he walked into her dimly lit room. She was sitting on an old wicker chair looking out the window. He stretched up and touched the top of the door before walking in. "Mere?" She didn't move her eyes from the scene outside. He walked over and sat in the other chair. "Meredith?" He touched her arm and she looked at him.

Her nose was red and her eyes were swollen. Tears rimmed the bottom of them.

"What's wrong? What happened?" He asked. She got up and walked over to the bed sitting down on it. He looked at her before walking over and sitting beside her.

"I uh… went to an OB/GYN today… Addison. She did an ultrasound…" A tear slid down her cheek. "I'm… I'm having twins, Alex. Twins!" She looked at him as tear more rapidly rolled down her cheeks. "How am I suppose to raise on baby let alone two?" She said as she started to sob. "I'm all alone."

Alex pulled her closer to him and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Sh… You're not alone in this. You'll never be alone. You have me, Christina, George, and Izzie. And we're going to help you, okay?"

She nodded through the sobs. "Thank you, Alex." She said quietly.

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She didn't go to work the next day saying that she was sick. The Chief brought it… somewhat. Alex offered to stay with her but she said no and asked him not to mention anything to anyone about the twins. He agreed and left for work. It was getting to be noon and Meredith had already watched three surgical tapes trying to keep her mind off of Mark and the babies. Now, she was getting bored. Her feet were propped up on the coffee table and her hands were rested on her stomach. She had just now realized that she didn't find out how far along she was. She was just starting to try and figure out a timeline when the doorbell rang. She stood up and walked over.

"Addison?" Meredith said looking puzzled to find Addison standing there holding a paper bag.

"Hey," She smiled at her.

"Hey… Oh um come in."

"Thanks. I figured you'd be getting hungry and we're friends so here I am… with food."

"Thanks, you didn't have…"

"I wanted to… we're friends, Meredith."

Meredith nodded and followed Addison into the kitchen.

"Did… I mean, I ran out, yesterday. How far along am I?" Meredith said.

"Six weeks," Addison said smiling at her. Meredith nodded. "So I got Mexican. I figured it would be a safe bet."

"How did you know?"

"I was pregnant once upon a time. Always wanted Mexican food. Something spicy or something like that."

"You were pregnant?"

"Yeah, Derek and I hadn't wanted any kids since we both had our careers. We were more married to our careers then to each other. I got pregnant when we were having problems. Bringing a baby into it… it would hurt it. I was nearly two months along and I aborted it. Derek didn't know." It wasn't all a lie. The only part that was a lie was… it might not have been Derek's. "It was for the best."

Meredith nodded. She could never abort Mark's baby… babies.

"Can you… Can you tell me about them?" Meredith said quietly as Addison handed her food.

"Yeah…I brought you an ultrasound picture. I printed it out after you left." She fished through her purse and pulled out three slips of paper. She set them down in front of her. "There's baby one. It's 4mm big." She smiled and pointed to little dark dots. "There is where the eyes will be… and the nose." Meredith smiled with wide eyes at the picture. Addison picked up the other and noticed Mere had subconsciously placed her hand on her stomach. "There's baby two. It's smaller only about 3mm big. There are the eyes… and the nose." Meredith looked at the pictures of her babies. In that moment, she knew she could do this. She knew that she had to for the babies. "And there are their little butts." She giggled. Meredith smiled widely.

"Thank you," She whispered picking up the picture with both of them in it and traced the little blobs. "Thank you."


	9. My Life as a Soap Opera

She sat in front of the window looking out on Seattle. She hoped to god Mark will come home soon. She wiped a tear off her cheek. All she wanted to do was be in his arms, which seemed like a simple wish not too long ago… now it almost seemed like it was an eternity ago. One hand rested on her stomach while the other under her chin moving her fingers slightly to wipe away the tears that rolled down her cheeks. The rest of the house was dark and quiet, which at first she was grateful for, now she wasn't so sure. The loneliness reminded her of the constant loneliness that she felt without him. She shook her head. It sounded like a twisted soap opera that has been on for years and years, yet the station refuses to cancel it.

Why did it have to be her life that ended up so fucked up anyway? It seemed like not a moment of peace would cross her path. She couldn't catch a break. It's not that she would wise her life on anyone, but why did she have to be cursed with it? Half the crap she's had to put up with in a life time would be a couple years worth of problems on an afternoon soap. She could see a group of ladies coming together to watch the newest soap 'Grey's life' on a network channel. Then, they would call up the ones who couldn't make it to the gathering to discuss the major mistakes, in the daily episode, that poor Meredith Grey made.

She looked down at her clothes. It was just a ratty t-shit and sweats. She tried to imagine her stomach as if she stuffed and old kickball up it. Then, she returned her gaze out the window. A plane rode low in the sky causing the room to fill with the sound of the not too distant sound of the engine. She couldn't help but wonder if Mark was on that plane or if he would ever be on a plane to Seattle.


	10. Showing

Weeks rolled by as if they were months. Even minutes seemed to be three times longer than they used to be. Meredith found herself staring at the clock more often.

She walked around the living room in one of her panicked fusses that she had been getting into lately. Her friends, including Addison, who after a couple of weeks was welcomed into the group with minimal hostility, all sat on the couch and watched Meredith in her nervous state.

"She won't have to worry about working out today," Izzie whispered to Christina as they watched with their eyes as their nervous friend paced the room. With interns being pushed back two months due to "system issues" the residents found themselves with time off.

Christina nodded and sipped her beer even though Meredith insisted on not drinking in front of her claiming that she couldn't think as well with temptation.

"Mere, just slow down," Alex said cautiously glancing at George who had already gotten his head bitten off by hormonal Meredith.

"I don't see the problem," Christina shrugged.

"How can you not see the problem?" Meredith snapped. "I haven't told a single person, other then you guys, that I'm pregnant…"

"So?" Christina said promptly.

"I'M SHOWING!" Meredith yelled. She pulled up her shirt to show a baby bump. It was starting to get noticeable and everyone knew it was but refused to tell her because they knew this would happen.

"Mere, you're three months pregnant." Addison said. "With twins! But don't worry. We can sneak you a pair of maternity scrubs."

"Yeah, maternity scrubs," Meredith said. "Good Idea."

"I'll take you maternity clothes shopping." Izzie was quick to say.

"I'd be glad to help too," Addison added.

"See, Mere, nothing to worry about," Alex said.

"I think I need to tell the Chief," Meredith said as she sunk into the leather recliner.

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She walked into the hospital even though she was off. The morning was cool as many days in Seattle in February were. The air was thick due to all the moisture. She walked over the overpass and looked out on the flags. There was a breeze going and the flags gingerly swayed away from the pole and back again. She sighs. She's about to open the book of her life to the Chief. A man whom she had know since she was in dippers and crawling around on the carpeting. A man who slept with her married mother. A man who had made and broke her life over and over. Yet, she was about to trust him with the secret that she had kept for three long months.

She knocked on his door glancing in the glass wall that over looked the main nurses' station of the surgical floor.

"COME ON IN," He said while waving her in at the same time. She took a deep breath and opened the door. He smiled at her and she forced one back. "Hello, Meredith." Even though he had done all those things to her parents, she still looked up to him as some sort of surrogate father.

"Hey, um, Chief," She sighed and sat down.

"So what did you need to talk to me about?" He leaned his elbows on the desk.

"I… Chief, I'm three months pregnant." She said and added quickly. "It is Mark's."

He leaned back in his chair. He looked shocked at the news.

"Have you seen an OB/GYN?" He asked then felt stupid for it. Of course she had, she knew how far along she was.

"Yeah… Addison." Meredith said playing with her hands.

"Is everything okay?" He asked and got up. He leaned on the corner of his desk.

"Yeah, everything except for Mark not being here." She said and tears threatened to fall but she refused to let them. She couldn't let the Chief know she was weak. He expected her mother's standards. She had to prove that she could handle everything all at once. "I'm…I'm, ah, having twins." She looked at him and her eyes glistened with tears.

"Meredith," He reached out and touched her arms. "What's wrong?"

"I just miss him you know," Her voice quivered. "I need him… And he's not here."

"If I knew where he was, I would…" He started.

"It's okay." She cut him off. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Do you need a few days off?" He looked up at her as she walked towards the door. She shook her head.

"No, I'm fine." She forced a sad smile and walked out.


	11. Bittersweet kicks

_Two weeks later (Meredith is 14 weeks pregnant)…_

She walked through the hospital doors, trying to focus on work. Now that the Chief knew, she felt… she felt vulnerable. Alex had no need to be in for another couple of hours so he decided to stay home until surgery. Izzie and Christina both had early shifts and were in the middle of their surgeries. George was off. Addison still had an hour before she would be out of her early surgery. So Meredith was alone. After grabbing an apple and a couple of charts, she headed up to Christina's gallery.

It was weird to be watching her when they had started out as surgery-hungry interns together. Now, they were surgery-hungry residents about to get their own surgery-hungry interns. The thought of interns made Meredith groan. She didn't want to be spending the next three years babysitting interns. First, she was going to get two or three. The next two years, she'd get four or five.

She sat down in the front row of the empty gallery. It wasn't too busy today but Derek was performing a rare surgery in OR 2, so most people were over there watching that. She didn't want to though. She just wanted to get away from everyone else even for a second. Down in the OR, Christina was clamping a bleed in the heart. She glanced up and saw Meredith. Meredith gave her a small smile and opened up on of the charts. Christina looked back down at the patient.

A few minutes had passed since she entered the gallery and the surgery continued below. She had only worked through one chart… The apple rolled across the floor and the chart fell in all directions. She put her hands on her stomach and her eyes grew wide and filled with tears. Christina happened to glance up to the gallery to see Meredith's expression. She made a face of confusion, but Meredith didn't notice. A tear slid down her cheek as she hurried to pick up the fallen objects and scurried out. Christina looked in confusion before returning her gaze to the surgery.

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The door opened to the empty gallery and she walked in. The OR and gallery were darkened. She stepped into the room and just stared at it. Then, it happened again. Her hand, subconsciously, found its way to her stomach. The tears rolled down her cheeks and her knees caved in. She collapsed to the floor. Her knees were pulled up and her arms were wrapped around them. Sobs shook her body.

"He wasn't even here to feel them. He wasn't here to feel them kick." She cried to herself.

There was another flutter in her stomach. It was like butterflies in her stomach. It was a bittersweet moment. She was happy to feel the babies kick. It only made them more real to her. It was sad because Mark wasn't there to feel it, too.

She heard the door click and she lifted her head, quickly trying to dry the fallen tears. He turned and looked at her. His face softened when he saw the tears.

"What's wrong, Meredith?" He said.

"Nothing… I'm fine," She got up and started to walk out. He grabbed her arm.

"No you're not."

"Yes, I am, Derek," She hissed.

"When is this going to stop, Meredith? When will we be okay around each other?" He said. "I mean it was a long time ago. I said I was sorry. But, you still never talk to me. Why can't we move on? I'm tired of your friends calling me a jackass and giving me dirty looks. When is that going to stop?" Silence filled the air and he still held onto her arm.

"I'm having a hard time right now. What do you want from me Derek? Just tell me what you want from me because I can't do this anymore. I can't live like this. I can't hate you and hate myself for how my life turned out. But I can't love or forgive you. I don't feel anything when I look at you. And, I'm sorry for my friends. You hurt them, just as much as you hurt me. I can't deal with any of this right now."

"You are the love of my life. Why can't you forgive me and love me?"

"You hurt me too many times. I'm in love with Mark now."

"So you can forgive him for leaving you, but can't forgive me."

"I'm in love with him. There's nothing he could do to change that. Even if he never comes home, I will still love him."

"I don't understand this, Meredith."

"I'm sorry if you don't understand. But, it's over."

She pulled her arm away and walked out wiping the tears from her eyes.


	12. What's going on?

"What was that today?" Christina asked as she opened the front door. Not bothering to knock.

"What?" Meredith said giving her a confused look from the couch.

"In the gallery," Christina disappeared into the kitchen.

"When?"

"During my surgery. Why? Was there another time I should be talking about?"

"The galleries were interesting for me today."

"Why? What happened?" She said and plopped down beside her.

"I felt the babies kick." She spoke quietly with a hand on her stomach.

"Okay? That makes you cry?"

"Mark isn't here."

"Oh," She nodded. "Sorry. What else made the galleries 'interesting' today?"

"Derek and I… talked except it was more… not talk."

"You didn't like kiss him or anything."

Meredith looked hurt at the comment.

"No! I am in love with MARK!"

"Okay, sorry."

"He asked me 'when this is going to stop?' or something like that," Meredith sighed.

"'When this is going to stop?' What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know. He said that he cheated on me a long time ago and a whole bunch of BS."

"Whatever."

"He was actually complaining about you guys calling him a jackass. I mean, seriously, he CHEATED ON me!"

"That's what we told him."

"What would I do without you guys?"

The door opened and they both looked to see who was coming in. Alex and Izzie walked in.

"Hey guys," They both said.

"Hey," The others answered back.

"Did you guys see it?" Alex said as he walked into the kitchen.

"See what?" Meredith said looking confused.

"McAss's surgery. For being an ass… he did well."

"I was in surgery," Christina sighed.

"I was in her gallery." Meredith said.

"No offense to you, Christina. But you were watching a heart bleed when you could have been watching _that_ surgery?" Alex asked.

"I needed to get away." She explained.

"Why? What's wrong?" Izzie asked.

"Nothing…" Meredith stuttered.

"She felt the babies kick," Christina said receiving a glare. "What?"

"Oh that's great, Mere," Izzie hugged her.

"I think I'm going to go upstairs." Meredith said and walked up the stairs.

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_The next day…_

Meredith walked into the hospital with her friends. But something was off. People were staring.

"What's going on? Who are they staring at?" Izzie whispered.

"I don't know," George shrugged. Christina grabbed a passing nurse's arm that had been doing some staring herself.

"What's going on? Who are they staring at?" She demanded.

"I… Uh… Um… I don't know." She answered.

"Don't give me that bullshit. I know you know. So tell me." Christina growled.

"Uh… From what I heard… you," The nurse said sheepishly and nodded towards Meredith.

"Why? Why are they staring at me?" Meredith stepped forward and could tell the nurse's gaze fell to her stomach. "What?"

"I have to go," The nurse scurried away and others around pretended to be doing work. Meredith sighed and walked down the hall.


	13. Who told?

"Who told?" Meredith said loudly and slammed down her tray on the table. All the others looked up confused to why she was standing, yelling.

"Who told what?" Christina said and popped a grape in her mouth.

"Who told the whole fucking hospital about my secret?" Meredith said a little quietly but still with angry in her voice.

"About…" Izzie nodded towards her stomach.

"Yes!" She said. "It's all over the hospital."

"Well, it wasn't me… doctor/patient confidentiality." Addison said with a smirk at the others.

"Not me," Christina said.

"None of us would talk about it, Mere," Izzie said.

Meredith let out a frustrated sigh and sat down. She leaned forward in her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"How did this get out?" She mumbled to herself. They all looked at the top of her head which was all they could see of her head. After a few moments, she pulled up her head and wiped her eyes as she cleared her throat. "It's not like I could keep it a secret much longer." She sighed.

"At least you will be able to wear scrubs that fit you," Christina said. They all glared at her, and she shrugged back.

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She opened the front the door and threw the keys on the front table. She wanted tequila. She couldn't have tequila. The door shut as she walked into the kitchen.

"Mere?" Alex said and followed her in.

"What?" She said.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" He said again.

"Alex, I am fine. Go out. Have fun."

"Just today was a… hard day."

"I promise you, I'm fine. You ask again, I cut your balls off and sew them onto your forehead."

"How did you come up with that?" He laughed.

"I don't know. I've had a rough day. GO!"

He nods and runs out laughing. She shook her head and sunk into the chair putting her head in her hands.

The door bell rang. She got up and walked towards the door. She opened it widely.

"Derek?" She said stepping forward and shutting the door so the opening was only the width of her body.

"Um, hi, Meredith," Derek said looking at the ground.

"What are you doing here?"

"I… I wanted to say… I'm sorry about yesterday." He still didn't look at her.

"Whatever, Derek, I'm not in the mood today."

"I heard about… I heard the rumors."

"Who hasn't?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?" She sighed.

"Why are you hanging out with Addison? My… Your ex-boyfriend's ex-wife that you're supposed to hate?"

"She's my friend. I don't hate her. Goodnight, Derek." She started shutting the door.

"Meredith?" His voice caused her to open it.

"What?"

"How can you be friends with her but not me?"

"She didn't lie to me or cheat on me. She was just stuck, as was I, in your lie." She shook her head. "What did she do to hurt me?"

"She was my wife."

"That wouldn't have mattered if you hadn't lied. And she was your wife way before you knew me. You just neglected to tell me. Goodnight." She shut the door.


	14. Sibling Rivalry

_Two weeks had passed…_

_Meredith was 16 weeks along…_

_Mark had been gone for 3 ½ months…._

"Interns?" Christina groaned. "Are we sure we're getting them today? I mean, they've been pushed back so many times before?"

"Yep, it was confirmed." Izzie said sinking into the chair behind the nurses' station.

"Fun," Christina said rolling her eyes to add to the sarcastic affect.

"Where's Mere?" Alex asked looking around.

"Still getting changed. Addison went to get her some new scrubs. The others looked so big on her frame and now everyone knows." Izzie answered.

"Addison said in two or three weeks she'll find out the sex if she wants to," George commented out of the blue.

"Yay! Then, I get to help her with the nursery!" Izzie said with a big grin.

"Chill, Barbie." Christina said.

"We have to first move my stuff into your old room," Alex said.

"Why?" Izzie asked. "It's because it's bigger isn't it. See I told you, George."

"What?" George said confused.

"When we first moved in. Your room was bigger and you said no." She said and stuck out her tongue.

"No, it's closer to Meredith's room. They're the same size." Alex said. George smirked and stuck out his tongue. Izzie rolled her eyes.

"Hey," Christina said as Meredith walked up. She was wearing a pair of light blue scrubs. They weren't too much bigger than her regular ones but you could tell she had a baby bump. She was definitely pregnant.

"Hot Mama," Izzie said and danced around Meredith. They all laughed.

"Doctors?" Callie's voice made them all stop laughing. They all turned to see her. "We're going to start. Here are the information folders on your interns." They all nodded as she turned and walked into the intern's locker room.

"Come on, let's check it out." Christina said. They all open their folders at once.

"Dr. Jill Andrews and Dr. Steve Walt," Izzie shrugged.

"Dr. Terry Hall and Jack Peek," Alex sighed.

"Dr. Daniel Wells and Katelyn Shack," Christina said uninterested in who she actually gets.

"Dr. Sara Gold and Megan Steep," George shrugged. They looked at Meredith who had shut her eyes. "What?"

"Dr. Sherry Hall…" Meredith began.

"Great, sibling rivalry." Alex said.

"And Dr. Lexi Grey," Meredith finished.

"And sibling rivalry," Alex said again.

"No, there are no siblings. I am not her sister." Meredith said. "And I will not be competing with her. I am her superior."


	15. Family

"Dr. Grey?" Lexi Grey spoke in a trembling voice. Meredith turned around to see her half sister standing there.

"Dr. Grey? Dr. Hall?" Meredith said. "Come with me. I'm Dr. Meredith Grey, your resident. I have five rules. Memorize them. Trauma protocol, phone lists, pagers. Nurses will page you; you answer every page at a run. A run, that's rule number one. Your first shift starts now and last forty-eight hours. You're grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain, you run labs, write orders, work every second night till you drop and don't complain!" She opens the door to an on-call room. "On call rooms. Attendings hog them; sleep when you can, where you can, which brings me to rule number two, if I'm sleeping, don't wake me, unless your patient is actually dying. Rule number three, the dying patient better not be dead when I get there, not only would you have killed someone, you would have also wakened me for no good reason. Rule number four, when I run, you run. We clear?"

"You said five rules that was only four." Lexi pointed out.

"Rule number five," Meredith started walking. "Don't bring your personal lives into the four walls of this hospital. You step into that entrance everyday and you're not Lexi Grey or Sherry Hall. You are Dr. Grey and Dr. Hall. Am I clear?" They both nod. Meredith leads them down the hall. "Here is the pit. You will spend 50 of your internship here or the clinic, 10 of it running labs, 20 coving patients and changing bandages and bedpans, 10 suturing, and only 10 in the OR. Get over it. Don't complain… Now, Dr. Grey cover the clinic. Dr. Hall cover the pit." With that she walked away.

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"Isn't this great?" Sherry said as she walked up the nurses' station Lexi was sitting behind.

"What?" Lexi asked.

"We have Dr. Grey."

"So?"

"She's pregnant."

"So?"

"She's going to have to talk time off."

"Oh, I get it."

"Yeah… oh, hey… are you guys related?"

"She's my dad's first child with another woman. Ellis Grey."

"Ellis Grey is her mom?"

Lexi nodded.

"Dude, that rocks. I wonder if she'll let us meet her."

"Dude, Ellis Grey died like six months ago."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," Lexi said. "A few months before my mom died. My dad blames Meredith for her death."

"Was it her fault?"

"No, I don't think so. But he insists it was. I don't know. They aren't close anymore… or never were. Ellis cheated on him, and then walked out on him. He never had a chance to see her again. Then, Meredith decided to hate him forever."

"No more socializing!" Christina's voice made the two interns jump.

"We aren't your interns." Sherry said.

"But I am a resident!" They roll their eyes and get back to work.


	16. The Big 48

"Dr. Grey?" Lexi said chasing after Meredith. "Dr. Grey?"

Meredith looked over her shoulder and kept walking.

"What Dr. Grey?" Meredith said.

"I was…" She caught up with her and tried to catch her breath. "I wanted to talk to you about this forty-eight hour shift…"

"What?"

"Well, you see there's this party…" She began.

"No, there are no exceptions to the forty-eight hours." Meredith said.

"Dr… Meredith. I'm your half-sister. And if Daddy had given us a chance…"

"Dr. Grey, even if we went in this hospital, I wouldn't be your half-sister. Your father left me a long time ago. He never cared about me and never will. He doesn't want me anymore. No get back to work." She started to walk off again.

"Did you even bother to tell him you're pregnant? Or is your baby not going to have grandparents either?"

"As far as I'm concern, my babies don't have a grandfather and their grandmother passed away. Get your ass back to work, Dr. Grey!"

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"Hey," Meredith said as she sat down.

"Hey," They all said.

"Lexi Grey actually asked me to get off of the big forty-eight." Meredith said.

"Seriously?" Izzie giggled.

"Seriously." She nodded.

"Nobody gets off the big forty-eight." Christina said.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"Party." She answered.

"Oh… What kind?" Christina said sitting forward. Meredith shrugged.

"She played the half-sister card."

"What you say?" George asked.

"That I'm not her half-sister. Then, she asked if her father knew I was pregnant."

"No way," Izzie said.

"Are these guys just trying to get bitch-slapped?" Christina chuckled.

"They're heading that way," Izzie said.

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"When'd you get here?" Alex said. Meredith looked up from the couch.

"Hey," She said. "Around 9. What took you so long?" She stuffed some chocolate ice cream into her mouth.

"Interns," He flopped down beside her. "Ugh." He looked down into her bowl. "That just looks nasty.

"It's good." Meredith said.

"What is it?" Alex said taking a spoonful but not putting it in her mouth.

"Pickle juice and chocolate ice," Meredith said.

"Gross," He made a face and put it back in the bowl.

"It's good," She giggled and put the spoon in his face. He pulled back and she giggled some more before putting it in her mouth.

"Have you eaten something other than that? Like, you know food?"

"Yeah, I had a sandwich."

"Alright."

"I'm going to head up to bed."

"Okay."

She put the bowl in the sink and headed upstairs.


	17. Finding Out

_Three weeks later…_

_Meredith is 19 weeks along. _

Meredith and Addison walked into the hospital laughing as they drank their coffee. They walked to the elevator.

"So, are you going to meet me up there?" Addison asked.

"Yeah, I just have to instruct the suck-ups."

"Ah, the great American pass-time."

"Yes, very much so."

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She knocked on the office door.

"Come on in!" Addison yelled from the other side.

"Hey," She said.

"Hey, ready?" Meredith stayed quiet and sunk into the chair. She took a couple deep breaths. "You okay?"

"I hoped Mark would be back by now," She said not looking up as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I just want him to come back."

"I know," Addison rubbed her back and rested her head on Meredith's. "I'm sorry."

"I love him," She cried.

"I know," She said.

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"Okay, you can just sit up there," Addison said and walked in.

"Okay," Meredith sighed.

"So do you want to find out the sex?"

"Yeah, I guess. I shouldn't expect Mark anytime soon." She said.

"Mere, don't talk like that. Mark loves you. You love Mark. That all that matters."

"Okay," She took a deep breath and Addison squirted gel on her stomach.

"It's cold, isn't it?"

"Yeah"

"Okay, let's see the babies." Addison smiled. Meredith looked at the screen. Addison studied the image. "There she is."

"She?" She had a shaky voice as tears rushed to her eyes.

"Yep, there she is."

"I'm having a baby girl."

"And there he is."

"He? A boy?"

Addison smiled and nodded.


	18. Crashing

_Three days later…_

Meredith walked into the hospital with her friends. They were all thrilled with the news of the genders and decided to start moving Alex into the other bedroom. Izzie was trying to work out a plan with Meredith on a design for a boy and girl nursery. Though Meredith couldn't be in the room while it was being painted, she was going to be painting anything little. She didn't tell many people, but she studied art in high school and minored in it for one year in college before deciding to start up in med school. Addison, Izzie, and Meredith had started looking for furniture as well. They decided to start early with the hope of it keeping her mind of Mark some. It seemed to work some of the time. Then, she would relapse and start sobbing.

"Dr. Grey?" She looked over to see her intern, Sherry, standing there.

"Yes, Dr. Hall?"

"Dr. Webber was looking for you earlier, but said that he was going into surgery. Though it was urgent, he will talk to you afterwards."

"Okay, thanks." She kept walking with her friends.

"What do you think it was?" Christina said.

"I don't know." She shrugged.

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She walked absent-mindedly down the hall. In her mind, she was going over possible diagnosis for her patient. She turned the corner and her gaze was on the floor, which probably wasn't a bright idea. Because, she knocked right into someone and started to stumble backwards causing her to subconsciously put her hands on her stomach. A strong hand reached out to steady her. She opened her eyes, ready to thank whoever saved her from the fall. But, the wind was knocked out of her. Her mouth dried up and she couldn't believe what she saw.

"Meredith?" He chocked out. She couldn't move or talk.

He wasn't much better. Because, right there standing in front of him was the only woman he ever loved. He could see the tears in her eyes, but he didn't know what to say.

At that moment, she forgot about the noticeable baby bump or trying to hide it or even caring if he saw it or not. She started to sob, uncontrollably.

He was pulled from the trance he was in. Knowing, she was a resident in this hospital probably with interns by now. He ushered her into the on-call room near-by.

"How could you leave me?" She sobbed.

"Meredith…" He started.

"I hate you. I hate you." She yelled and sobbed as she started hitting his chest. He just stood there and took it, until he noticed her getting tired. He didn't want her to hurt herself, so he grabbed her wrists to stop her. She collapsed into him sobbing into his chest, still weakly hitting his chest. On hand stayed on her stomach, protectively. Finally, she gave up and her knees gave out. They fell to the floor. He stroked her hair and tried to soothe her the way he used to.

"Sh… Sh…" He whispered in her ear trying to get her to stop crying.

He was still oblivious to the fact that she was pregnant. After a few minutes, he realized her shoulders had stopped shaking and her breathing had evened out. She had fallen asleep. He picked her up with ease and… that's when he realized it.

There he stood in the middle of the on-call room cradling a limp Meredith in his arms looking down at her stomach.


	19. Contrary To Popular Belief

He laid her down in the bed and took a couple steps back. His back rested against the wall.

What was he supposed to make of this?

So many questions filled his head. Like voices yelling questions at him but he didn't know the answers. He couldn't hear his own thoughts.

"_Has she moved on? She's having a baby? Oh god. Great doing Sloan. Leaving was your brightest move. DAMN IT."_

He looked at Meredith once more before turning and walking out.

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The door shut and clicked into position. He slid down the wall his knees pulled up and his arms rested on them.

"_She probably moved on and is happy with someone else." _So many thoughts like this toyed with his brain and pulled at his heart. "Damn it." He kicked the chair sitting in front of him back against the wall. It caused a loud thud against the wall.

The door slowly opened and he looked up to see Christina standing there.

"Find another room." He said looking at the ground again.

"No, I need to talk to you." She said, trying to stay calm. She walked to the other wall and slid down it. She brought her knees up, too, and looked at him. "Why'd you leave?" He didn't say anything just fooled with his shoe lace. "Look at me, Sloan. Why did you leave? One girl wasn't enough?" She said sharply. He threw the shoe lace down and looked at her.

"What do you want from me, Yang? Do you want me to tell you that everyone was right about me? That I left because I wanted Mere to suffer while I go across the states to pick up some whore? Do you want me to tell you that I felt tied down and hated actually having sex with one girl?" Mark hissed. "Well, I can't. I didn't leave to see her suffer. I left so she wouldn't have to. She deserves better than me. Mark Sloan the manwhore who ruined his best friend's marriage. She deserves someone who won't fuck up everything he has going for him. But I did that anyway, right? You know what? I haven't had sex in months, since I left. Because, I love her and every time a girl hit on me I thought of Meredith. And, I wanted to come back but every time I wanted to… I remembered why I left. I was reminded of Addison and Derek and what I did to them. I couldn't do that to Mere. So no matter how much I wanted to come back to her, I reminded myself I could. I was unhappy so she could be happy. Maybe it stung at first for her but at least in the long run… she'd be happy. She'd find someone who could provide what I couldn't; someone who she deserves."

Christina sat there and took it all in.

"So what are you going to do now?" She asked simply.

"What do you mean? She's pregnant. She's moved on. I'm too late."

"She might be pregnant, but there is no way in hell she's moved on." With that she stood up. "She always cries. She cries at night. She thinks we can't here it, but we do." She walked out. He let out a frustrated groan and kicked the door shut.

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She peeled her eyes open and looked up at the bottom of the top bunk. Tears slowly started to form in her eyes. He was back and she told him she hated him. What the hell is wrong with her? She let out a long sigh. What was she suppose to do? He had a right to know and she knew he did. She wanted him to know, but he left once. What's to say he won't again?

She laid their and stared up trying to collect her thoughts.

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Addison walked down the hall receiving weird looks from everyone she passed. She straightened her salmon-colored scrubs and took off the scrub cap. She glanced at her watch and looked back up. A couple of nurses turned her head. She raised and eyebrow and continued down the hall. She got on the elevator and hit the button for the surgical floor deciding to check up on Meredith.

The door slid open revealing Mark. His head was lowered as he typed something on his phone.

"MARK!" She yelled in surprise. His head flew up as she got off the elevator.

"Addi?" He said and was about to hug her but only received a hit on the arm. "What the hell was that for?"

"What do you 'what was that for'? You left Meredith! You left my friend, so it gives me all rights to hit you."

"Your friend?" He said and followed her down the hall.

"Yes, my friend. We're friends. Has she seen you?"

"Yes," He sighed.

"Oh god. What happened?" She said.

"We ran into each other, literally ran into each other. We went into the on-call room and she started hitting me. She told me she hated me. Then, she fell asleep. I laid her down and walked out."

"Sloan, we've been friends for years, right?" He nodded. "Then listen to me, you have to talk to here."

"I know. I know, Addison. Contrary to popular belief, I love her."

"So you leave her?" Addison yelled.


	20. Little Voices

_That night…_

She told Alex to leave. She needed time alone, without people asking for an explanation. They all knew about him being back and all offered different forms of torture to do on Mark… except Christina. It surprised Meredith when Christina offered no remark on kicking his ass or cutting of his balls. But, too many things were going on in her mind to care. She didn't see Mark the rest of the day. Even if she had, she wasn't sure how she would have reacted.

She slipped into her pajamas. They were light blue sweatpants and her Dartmouth shirt. She wore that shirt even though the bottom of her stomach poked out. It offered her some sort of comfort. She didn't know why, but it did.

She sunk into the couch and let out a long sigh. In her arms she cradled a bag of mini chocolate cookies, pretzels, a pint of chocolate ice cream, and her signature… pickles. Nasty, but right now it was comfort food for her and the babies. She didn't want to think about Mark. She clicked on the TV and started to surf through the channels.

A half an hour later, she settled on some show she had never heard of but there was nothing else on. A young couple ran into the woods. The boy grabbed her hand and turned her around. They kissed and said their last I love you before running away from the dreaded monster.

Tears came to Meredith's eyes as she clicked off the TV. She put her head in her hands and started to cry.

"_You want Mark. You know you do. Come on, Meredith, seriously. You love him. You're carrying his babies. And he doesn't know it. He's back…"The little voice in her head said. _

"_What if he leaves again? How do we know if he's going to stay?" Her other little voice agued. _

"_He loves you. He must have a good reason for leaving. Just talk to him."_

"_Why should she? She can just add him to the list of people who betrayed your love."_

"_She loves him! He loves her! TALK TO HIM!"_

"_Don't do it. He'll leave you."_

"_What about the babies? They will grow up without him!" _

"_She turned at quite alright without Thatcher."_

"_Yeah, her inability to love or trust anyone. Totally normal." The other one whispered._

Why did she have to be cursed with two little voice?

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The next day both of her interns had off so she didn't have to go in either. The Chief called to check up on her. She lied and said she was fine.

It was noon before she even got out of bed. She was wearing the same pajamas as the day before. She walked into the kitchen and put her hand on her stomach to feel one of the babies kick. She sighed.

"Don't worry. Everything will be alright," She whispered to her stomach. "Daddy and I are going to be fine." She walked to the fridge and got a soda. The door bell rang. She walked into the living room and opened the door.

"Mark?" She said and her hand dropped off her stomach.

"Meredith, hey," He said. "Have you eaten?"

"Um… no."

"Do you want to go get something?"

"I really don't feel up to going out."

"I could get something," He suggested.

"Um…." She said and thought it over.

"_You have to talk to him anyway," Her first said._

"Yeah, I guess," She answered and let him in.

"What would you like?"

"Mexican."

"You got it."

"What kind?"

"Three tacos, refried beans, Mexican rice, and a burrito." She answered receiving a weird look. "Oh, I'm eating for three." She put her hand on her stomach and giggled.

"What?" He said. She realized what she had said.

"Oh, ah twins," She said. He could hear his heart.

"Oh," He said. "I'll.. ah go get the food." He rushed out. She let out a groan and sunk into the couch. She put her head in her hands and started to cry.


	21. Why?

He knocked on the door. Still nothing. He decided to open the door without an answer.

"Meredith?" He got no answer. "Meredith!" He yelled a little louder.

He walked into the kitchen and set the food on the counter.

"Meredith?"

"Oh… Mark," She sniffled as she came down the stairs. Her eyes were red. Her cheeks were flushed.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Mark, I can't do this."

"What?" He asked as she sat down.

"I can't pretend like nothing happened." He gave her the food and walked into the living room. She carried her four carry out containers and followed him.

"Meredith, I want pretend that nothing happened, either."

There was silence for a while.

"Why did you leave?" Meredith asked.

"I didn't leave to hurt you. I left so I wouldn't hurt you. I knew I would if stayed I would have hurt you far worse than if I left. After, I left I wanted to come back because I missed you. But, then I remembered everything I had fucked up. I couldn't do that to you. I haven't had sex since I left. I can't do it."

Meredith stayed quiet. Her eyes gleamed with tears and her hand subconsciously landed on her stomach.

Minutes ticked by and not a word was spoken.

"Meredith?" She looked up at him. "I love you and I want this to get better. I understand if you've moved on and I'll go back to New York. I want you to be happy. I want you to know I love you." With that he got up and looked down at Meredith. He smiled slightly before walking out.

The door shut and she leaned back in the chair. She struggled to hold back the welled up tears.

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"Hey," She forced a sad smile as Addison walked in.

"Hey," She smiled back and laid down her stuff.

"Mark came by earlier." Meredith said as she looked at the fire in the fireplace.

"Oh…" There was a long pause and she sat beside Meredith on the couch. "Did you tell him?"

"No," She moaned out of frustration.

"He loves you."

"I know." There was another pause. "I love him too."

"I don't see the dilemma."

"He left, Addison. Maybe my little voice is right. Maybe he will leave again."

"He won't leave again."

"How do you know?" She said and played with the fringe of the pillow.

"Because, he loves you and he'll love your babies. Meredith you have to talk to him."

"I know. I want to but I don't know what to say."

"You say… Even though this is a corny cliché… You speak from your heart."

"It is a corny cliché." Meredith giggled. "But thanks Addison."

"Your welcome, Mere."

The fire danced in the fireplace. Smoke puffs puffed up the chimney. Addison threw her head back and took a sip of her beer. Meredith didn't mind if the others drank. She had no temptation since she always remembered the risks of drinking pregnant.

"Have you picked names?" Addison asked.

"I.. I guess not. I guess I was always been waiting for Mark."

"You got to tell him about the babies before you can do that."

"Yeah, I know. I'll tell him." Meredith nodded.


	22. Rumors

Meredith walked into the hospital the next day. She was tired because her head was to full to sleep. She walked to the elevator and by the time she got off the elevator she heard three different versions of what happened to her the night before.

She talked to him and told him Derek was the father of her babies.

Mark came over and they had wild and crazy sex all night.

She and Mark got into a huge fight ending in her having sex with another man while he watched.

She rolled her eyes at every story, but didn't bother to make truth of it. It was like a big game of telephone. It started off with a little piece of truth and ended up as one big speculation.

"So which is true?" Christina asked once she appeared in the locker room.

"None of them." She sighed. "Doesn't this hospital have something better to do?"

"I personally like the one where you had a threesome with him and Derek." Izzie said earning an eye roll from Meredith.

"I like the one where I made him watch me fuck another man," Meredith said.

"I hadn't heard that one," Christina laughed.

"I heard one like that." Alex laughed. "Except it was with another woman."

"Great I'm finding out so many new things about myself." She rolled her eyes and slipped her shirt over her head.

"Me too… And I find it a little kinky," Alex said. She hit his arm.

"Hey Mere, I hope you're feeling better." George said as he came in.

"What?" She said making a face.

"I heard rumors." He said and she shook her head.

"This is bullshit. Why is it always my life?"

"Most entertaining. I mean seriously we work 100 hour weeks. We have to do something to entertain ourselves." Christina said. "You should feel honored."

"Yeah, so honored." Meredith said and walked out.

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Mark opened the door the Chief's office and walked out colliding with someone.

"Sorry." The other person mumbled.

"Meredith?" He said and steadied her.

She looked up at him.

"Sorry." She said again ready to walk away.

"Mere?"

"What?"

"I want to talk to you again."

She looked up to keep the tears from falling. She thought a moment and nodded.

"We probably should." With that she walked away.


	23. Am I?

Meredith walked down the stairs obviously annoyed by the interruption of her work.

"Alex, did you move your dresser?" She said looking over at him. He was sitting on the couch with his leg up.

"Yep," He answered as he took a bite of his ice cream. "What are you doing down here?"

"The babies are hungry." He nodded and returned his attention to the TV screen. "Want anything?"

"Nah, I'm fine."

"Okay, but it's your lose."

"Why?" He said looking at her again.

"I'm making a pickle and pepper sandwich." He made a face.

"You're kids have some weird appetites."

She giggled and crossed over into the kitchen. The door bell rang.

"I got it," She called to him.

"Whatever." He said back not lifting his eyes from the screen. She walked across the living room to the door and opened it.

"Mark? What are you doing here?" This caught Alex's attention.

"You said we needed to talk…"

"Oh, yeah. Um… you can come in. Alex?" She raised her eye brow.

"Oh, right… I'll go… move my bed."

"Thanks." She smiled reassuringly. He nodded and hurried up the stairs.

"Move the bed?" Mark laughed.

"His room is becoming the nursery."

"Oh," He said and followed her into the kitchen.

"Pickle and pepper sandwich." She offered.

"No, I'm fine."

"What is with you men and the inability to try one of my pregnancy cravings?"

He laughed. She smiled and sunk into the seat at the bar. There was a long silence.

"I don't know what to say…" She said with a sigh.

"Yeah, me neither."

"How did we get to this?"

"I made a stupid mistake."

"I would have to agree with you there."

"I'm so sorry, Meredith."

There was another long pause.

"I'm pregnant." She said simply looking at the ground and toying with her fingers.

"Yeah, I know," He said looking at the ground again. "You want to be happy with the father, right?"

"Yeah, I do." She looked up at him. He forced a smile.

"How far are you?" His voice quivered a little.

"Almost 20 weeks."

"20 weeks…" There was a long pause. Her eyes fell to the ground once his eyes started to grow wide. There was a long pause. "Mere, am I the father?"


	24. You Don't Have To Do Anything

The questioned seemed like such an easy one to answer, but at the same time so hard. Not only was it going to decide her future with or without Mark, but it would also decide her children's.

The pause seemed to be so long. His eyes searched her face as her eyes sat still on his face. It almost seemed to speak for itself. His heart started to race even faster as seconds ticked by like hours. He was almost ready to give up and walk out that door letting the silence speak for itself, but she started to nod. Slowly nodding.

"Yes," She said barely in a volume that would qualify as a whisper. Her eyes were, by now, set on the floor. It took her a few seconds to raise them back to his eyes. She searched them for some sign of hope for her. But all she saw was blank; a blank stare at her face.

Time seemed to be even slower than it had been before she told him. It had only been a couple of minutes of silence but it felt like hours. She looked at him dead in the eye but couldn't detect what he was thinking. So she took it for the worst.

Tears built up in her eyes and she stood up abruptly. His eyes barely moved until she started to talk.

"You know what? It's fine. You, ah… you don't have to do anything." She said putting lifting her hand to her face to wipe a tear from rolling down her cheek. "It's okay. Excuse me." She hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

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She was curled up on her bed. Tears slowly ran down her cheeks. He pushed open the door and stood there. She looked up, but didn't say anything as he came over. She sat up in confusion letting her legs fall over the edge. But, he didn't stop to explain. He just walked over, put his hands on both sides of her face, and tipped it back before he kissed her. It was hard and passionate. He gently pushed her back on the bed and her arms wrapped around his neck deepening the kiss.

A few moments later, he pulled back and they both gasped to catch their breath.

"I love you, Meredith," He said and stared right into her eyes.

"I love you too." She pulled his head back down into another kiss as she started to unbutton his shirt.


	25. If You Want To Join Me

_The next day…_

"Mark? Mark?" She whispered into his ear.

"Huh? What?" He jumped a little.

"I have to leave." She sat on the edge of her bed in jeans and a t-shirt.

"About last night…" He started.

"We'll talk later. I have to go." She looked at him for a second before kissing his cheek and walking to the door.

"Mere?" She looked at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She smiled at him before walking out. "Mark?"

"Hmm?"

"I have an appointment today at noon…. If you want to come. You don't have to… just if you want…"

"I'll be there, Mere."

She nodded before smiling and walking out.

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"He's coming."

"Today?" Addison asked.

"Yeah, today." Meredith nodded at her. "Just an ultrasound?" She smelt the muffin in her hand making a face.

"Yep."

They walked down the hall and Meredith threw the muffin in a trashcan.

"Hey, guys." Christina said as she came up.

"Hey." They both said.

"So is what I hear true?" Christina said.

"What?" Meredith asked.

"You banged McSteamy."

"How do they know these things? And who told you?"

"You did." Christina said with a shrug.

"When?" Meredith asked.

"You didn't tell me. Mere!" Addison yelled.

"Just now. I pretended like I knew so you would tell me."

"Fine, yes. I did."

Christina started to laugh.

"What?" Meredith said making a face.

"I played you like a fiddle."

"Ha Ha Ha… Go to hell." Meredith said rolling her eyes.

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"Dr. Grey?" A voice came from behind her pulling her from her thoughts. She looked over her shoulder and smiled before turning towards him.

"Hey."

"Hey," He smiled at her. "So when's our appointment?"

"I'm going to go see Addi in five minutes, if you want to join me."

"I would love to."

She finished up the chart and shut it. She smiled at him.

"Let's go."


	26. So Real

She knocked lightly and opened the door. "Addi?"

"Oh hey, guys." She stood up from her desk. "Ready?"

They both nodded as she put on her lab coat.

"Okay, let's go." They followed her to a close-by exam room. Meredith laid down on the table and lifted her shirt so it was right below her boobs. Mark sat on the stool beside her taking her hand into his. Addi logged onto the ultrasound machine and got it ready.

"It's going to be cold." She warned as she did every time. Meredith nodded as she squeezed the gel on her rounded stomach. She put the probe to her stomach and started to move it around in search of the first baby. Meredith and Mark watched the screen intently.

"There he is." Addison said with a big smile. She glanced at the two before returning her eyes to the screen. "He looks good. 6 inches."

Meredith smiled and her eyes sparkled with tears. She looked up at Mark. His eyes were full with tears and glued to the screen.

"See the eyes?" Addison continued to say. "Nose?" There was a pause as she looked for the second. "There is the baby girl."

Meredith looked back at the screen and smiled.

"A little under six inches. If I had to guess…" She looked at Meredith. "5.5 inches." She looked back at the screen. "There is her little butt." She smiled to herself. "Do you want pictures?"

Meredith nodded and looked up at Mark. His eyes were even more glazed over with tears. He still hadn't moved his eyes from where they were. Addison set the pictures down on the table.

"I'll be back." Addison said knowing they needed time.

The door shut and Meredith looked at Mark again. Still nothing. No movement. No words. Nothing. She squeezed his hand. He finally looked down at her.

"You okay?" She said quietly. He nodded and rubbed his eyes. She reached up and wiped a tear that almost fell from his cheek. "You sure?"

"It seems more real now." He said quietly.

"Yeah, I know."

He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it.

"I love you, Meredith." He spoke into her hands.

"I love you too, Mark." She touched the side of his face.

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"Are you going to come over, tonight?" Meredith asked leaning against the nurses' station.

"Yeah, if you want." Mark answered.

"Sure."

"I have to go." She smiled at him.

"Okay. I should go too." He kissed her cheek and walked away.


	27. Baby Names

"Can we think about baby names?" Meredith said sitting beside him on the couch. She leaned back against his chest.

"We can do whatever you want." She smiled at him. "But, can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Are we… okay? Are we dating?" She thought about it.

"I love you, that's all I know."

"I love you too, Mer." He kissed her lightly. "So baby names…"

"Let's start with girl names."

"Okay… um…" Mark said. "What names do you like?"

"I don't know. Here I'll name the ones I can think of you tell me what you like." He nodded. "Okay, Samantha, Lindsay, Katherine, Grace, Mia, Hailey, Shara, Elizabeth, Bethany, Allison, uh… Riley, Lauren, Kayla, Nicole, Amanda, Morgan, Paige, Brooklyn, Abigail, Gabriella… Okay that's all I can think of. You list some."

"I don't know many."

"Come on."

"Fine…" He sighed. "Jessica, Leah, Audrey… I don't know, Mer."

"Damn, this is hard." She thought for a minute. "What about… Natalie… Natalie Grace…?"

"Natalie Grace?" Mark said repeating it.

"Natalie Grace Sloan." Meredith said.

"I like it."

"Me too." Meredith said with a smile. "Now, boy names?"

"What about… Nicholas? Or…"

"Nicholas. I like that name."

"Yeah. Nicholas…"

"Nicholas… Nicholas William, no. Nicholas Alexander?"

"Would that go to Alex's head?"

"Yeah, probably… Nicholas, what do you think?"

"Nicholas" He repeated quietly. "Nicholas Joseph Sloan?"

She looked at him. "I like it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I do."

"So Natalie Grace Sloan and Nicholas Joseph Sloan."

She smiled. "Perfect." She leaned in and kissed him.

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"So, we picked names." Meredith said as she changed into her scrubs.

"You did." Izzie beamed. Meredith nodded. "Well?"

"Natalie Grace Sloan and Nicholas Joseph Sloan."

Izzie squealed. "I love them."

"We almost gave Nicholas the middle name Alexander but we figured it would go to your head, Alex."

He smirked at her. "Well, I feel honored that you would consider me even if you're saying I'm conceited."

"You are so welcome, Alex." Meredith smirked. "But at least it's true."


	28. Wake Up Call

_Three and a half months later…_

"I hate you." Meredith hissed.

"You hate me?" He laughed putting down his stuff. "Why do you hate me?"

He said starting to walk over.

"Because you're making me take maternity leave." She pouted.

"You're due in two weeks and you go to go today."

"You're watching me like a hawk." She stuck out her tongue out at him, but continued to pout. He came and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't forgive you." She said looking into his eyes. He leaned over and kissed her. She didn't pull away, but he started to push her back further on the couch.

"Don't forgive me huh?"

"Just kiss me." She said pulling his lips back down to hers. Minutes later, the door open and Alex walks in. He made a face as they pulled apart sitting up. Meredith pulled her shirt down.

"I need my own place." He mumbled on his way to the kitchen. Meredith and Mark bust into laughter once he disappeared into the kitchen totally.

"So how was your last day?" He asked.

"Hectic. Long." She said trying to lift herself from the couch. "Help me." She pouted at him. He laughed and stood up helping her up. "Thank you." She kissed his cheek.

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That night…

Meredith awoke as a sharp pain stabbed her stomach. Mark's arm was around her waist and he was lightly snore into her hair. She rubbed her stomach rolling back onto her side when she noticed her pajama pants were went. Her face scrunched up with confusion as she gently kicked the comforter back and looked down to see her pants and surrounding bed wet. She gasped in realization almost wanting to scream in shock. Instead she sat up.

"Mark!" He didn't wake up. "Mark!" She yelled a little louder.

"Huh? Huh? What?" He said open his eyes letting them adjust to the darkness. "What's wrong, Babe?" His eyes fell shut again.

"My water broke." His eyes popped back open and he sprung up.

"What?"

"My water broke like all over my leg." She said trying to get up. "Help me." He quickly got up and helped her to her feet. "Go wake Alex." He nodded and hurried out as Meredith began to change.

He threw the door opened to Alex's room and turned on the light. "Kerev." He said loudly. Alex jumped.

"Dude, I'm sleeping. Turn off the fucking light and get out."

"Meredith's water broke."

"Crap." He said kicking the covers back.

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Alex drove to the hospital with Meredith and Mark in the back seat. Meredith was crying about it being too early but they knew it was just the hormones. They got there and Alex rushed in getting a wheelchair. Mark wheeled her in. They had paged Addison on the way. She was on her way. The nurses put her in a room and she changed into a hospital gown. Alex went off to call everyone else.

About ten minutes later, Addison showed up.

"Hey." She smiled at them as she walked in.

"Hey." Meredith smiled back.

"I'm going to check how far you are." She nodded as Meredith pushed the gown back. "You look to be five cm along. Half way there."


	29. Full House

_Twenty minutes later…_

The room was filled with people. Mark sat at the head of the bed gentle stroking Meredith's hand helping her recover from a contraction. Christina sat in the chair not far from the bed cradling a cup of coffee. Izzie was standing with George in the back of the room. Richard had come down from his office since he was working a late night shift. Bailey, who was on-call, had also popped in and out. Alex, who was acting as Meredith's personal slave since Mark wanted to stay with her, was running throughout the hospital getting ice chips or different washcloths.

The door opened forcing Izzie to step forward into George. Addison poked her head in.

"Whoa, this room filled up fast." She said stepping in and letting the door shut.

"You know, Mer, you could have had this baby at a normal time. You know office hours. It's four in the freaking morning." Christina said groggily.

"I'm so sorry I in convenience _you_. I'm the one pushing a bowling ball out of my vagina." She snapped glaring at her.

"Well at least we know your twins will be very popular." Addison said sitting on the stool near the end of the bed. "Now, I need to check how far you are if you want to…"

Meredith looked around. "It's not like everyone in this room hasn't seen me naked."

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Mark said. "Is there something going on between you, Yang, and Stevens?"

"Shut up, Sloan." Christina snapped standing up. "We'll wait outside."

The room soon was vacated of everyone but Addison, Mark, and Meredith. Addison pulled the blanket back.

"You look to be about six cm, now. That was quicker than I expected."

"Yeah, how great one cm," Meredith sighed.

"It's progress, Mer." Mark said kissing her head. She nodded adjusting herself on the bed as Addison covered her legs up.

"Picked names?" She asked sitting on the bed.

"Natalie Grace Sloan and Nicholas Joseph Sloan," Mark answered.

Addison smiled. "I really like those."

"Thank you." Meredith smiled back. Addison walked to the door and nodded at the others.

Soon the room was full again. Meredith smiled at everyone but her face turned sour quickly.

"You're having another contraction," Addison said walking over to the machine monitoring it. Meredith started to breath through it and her face turned red with pain. Mark let her squeeze his hand as he gently rubbed it with her other hand. Everybody else stood awkwardly waiting for it to pass. A soon as it did, Mark wiped her face with a wet cloth.

"We'll be in the waiting room." Christina said. Alex, George, and Richard nodded and headed out.

"But I want to stay and see the baby." Izzie whined.

"You can't." Christina said pushing her out of the door. She glanced back Meredith and Mark. They smiled at her as she shut the door.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Ice chips, please?" She asked.

"Here you go, Babe." He said handing her a cup putting a couple in her mouth.

"Thank you." She said taking his hand again letting her head fall to the side. "I love you."

"I love you too."


	30. They're Beautiful

_Five o'clock rolled around…_

Izzie looked at her watch. "It's five."

"We have to meet interns." George said.

"We can't just leave. Mer's in labor."

"What are we supposed to do Izz?" Christina said rolling her eyes.

"Fine, let's go change and come back here." Izzie said grabbing her things before the three hurried out.

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_In the delivery room…_

"It's a girl, Mer." Addison said holding the baby up for Meredith to see.

"Is Nicky okay?" She asked panting.

"He weighs 6 pounds 9 ounces." A nurse said from the back of the room.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she let her head fall back. Mark had gone over to cut Nicky's cord.

"Dr. Sloan, you can cut her cord now too." A nurse said.

Addison looked up at Meredith after delivering the placenta.

"Meredith? Are you okay?" She asked noticing Meredith's eyes had fallen shut and her breathing was quickened. Mark's head shot around.

"Just catching my breath." Meredith gasped.

"Let's get an oxygen mask on you. Vaginal birth of twins takes a lot out of mothers." She said giving her a mask.

"She weighs 6 pounds 6 ounces." The nurse said reading the scale Natalie was on. The two babies were crying like crazy.

"Is that okay?" Meredith panted.

"It's fine." Addison smiled. Meredith caught her breath and pulled the oxygen mask off. "You okay now?" Meredith nodded. Mark walked over with a huge smile holding a blue bundle of blanket in one arm. His hand rested on top.

"Meredith?" He said softly. "We're parents."

A tear slid down Meredith cheek and a small smile stretched across her face as Mark laid the baby on her stomach.

"Hey there, Nicky," She said softly. Nicky opened his eyes revealing gray-green colored eyes. "Hey… I'm your mommy." Mark soon returned to the bed holding Natalie. Meredith looked over at the baby within the bundle of pink blankets and smiled even wider. "Hey Natalie," She reached over and touched her little hand. Mark leaned over and kissed Meredith lightly.

"I love you," He whispered.

"I love you too." She said back looking at Nicky.

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He walked out into the waiting room to see if they were still out there.

"Mark, oh my god, are they born?" Izzie said jumping up once she saw him. Mark looked around at the waiting room full of people.

"What is… this?" He said motioning towards the group.

"We didn't want to miss you so we're doing on assignments here." Izzie said quickly. "Now, what's going on?"

Mark looked at their anxious faces and smiled. "Natalie and Nicholas were born twenty minutes ago."

The whole waiting room clapped even if they didn't know why.

"Is Mer okay?" Alex asked.

Mark nodded. "She's resting now."

"Well, can we see them?" George asked.

Mark nodded. "Finish with you interns and we can go to the nursery."

"Why aren't they in the room?" Christina asked.

"Meredith had trouble rebounding. She's fine now but Addi wants her to rest for a half an hour without any interruptions."

They nodded.

"Go!" They all said to their interns at one time. Mark smiled and led them down the hall to the nursery.

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They stood with their nosed pressed to the glass. Laying in two cradles close to the glass laid Natalie and Nicolas.

"Oh my god, Mark." Izzie cried. "They are gorgeous."

"Well done, Sloan." Alex said patting his shoulder.

"They did get the best traits of their parents." Christina said.

Mark chuckled. "Thanks."

"They're beautiful."


	31. THE END

_Three years later…_

She walked down the hallway of the hospital. "Uh, have you seen Dr. Sloan?" She asked as she walked up to the nurses' station.

"No, sorry, Dr. Sloan." The nurse said. Meredith always had to smile when someone called her that. Dr. Meredith Grey-Sloan. She loved the sound of it. She continued down the hall annoyed that she was at the hospital when she was supposed to be heading home. She looked at the OR board to see that he was about to go into surgery. She hurried down the hall. Her heels clicked with every step. She pushed the door open to the scrub room to find Mark scrubbing in. He looked over at her.

"Hey Babe." He said with a smirk. "And might I say you look hot." She rolled her eyes crossing her arms across her chest. She was wearing a black dress, black heels, and her lab coat. She walked to the sink and looked in on the OR.

"What are you going in on?" She asked.

"Nose reconstruction. Kid got hit with a ball. He can't breathe."

"So you'll be a good three, four hours?" She asked.

"Yep." He nodded tying the mask around his neck.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She said obviously annoyed.

"What?" He said trying to remember.

"Izzie's? The party?" She sighed. "You forgot."

"Sorry." He winced.

"You're lucky that I love you or you'd be on the couch tonight." She sighed again rubbing the bridge of her nose. "It's fine. Just come when you're done. She'll be ticked if we skip another Christmas dinner."

"Can I have my good luck kiss?" He asked. She glanced in the OR.

"For the sake of the kid that can't breathe… yes." She kissed him before walking to the door.

"Love you."

"Love you too, Babe." He said tying the upper part of his mask on.

She walked out shaking his head.

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She knocked the door juggling with all she held in her arms. The door opened and Izzie appeared with a big smile.

"You actually came this year." She said looking around. "Where is your husband?"

"Emergency surgery. But he'll be here. I threatened him." She smirked and walked in. The kids followed. "Natalie, Nicky put the presents up here."

They walked into the living room where a very pregnant cranky Christina sat.

"Meredith? What took you so long?" Christina said. "I had to deal with bubbly holiday Izzie all by myself. Meredith laughed as Izzie shot her a glare.

"Hey Rob." Meredith said setting all the presents she held in her hand.

"Hey Mer." Robert said bringing in a tray of vegetables.

Robert is Christina's fiancé of six months. He started at the hospital almost three years ago as a Cardio surgeon. Now, Christina is seven and a half months pregnant with a baby girl.

"Hand me your presents, kids." Natalie and Nicky looked at her.

"Mine." Nicky said pulling it away from her hand.

"Give it here, now." Meredith instructed. They both reluctantly handed them over. Meredith set them on the table where Christina's and Izzie's were.

"Where's McSteamy?" Christina said.

"Emergency surgery." Meredith answered letting Madeline down so she can walk around. Madeline Eve Sloan was born two years after the twins. She was a now a little over one. "Where are Alex and George?"

"Alex is upstairs with the baby." Izzie said. "And George and Laura haven't got here yet."

Alex and Izzie started dating and got married a year ago. Izzie was 5 months pregnant at the wedding. Now, Tommy is seven months old.

George also started dating Laura Mackenzie, a nurse at the hospital. They had been dating for nearly a year when George proposed.

"Hey Guys." Alex said hurrying down the steps with the baby.

"Hey Alex. Hey Tommy." Meredith said smiling at the small baby.

"Tommy." Natalie said trying to see the baby. Alex laid him down on the floor so he could kind of crawl around some.

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They were all sitting at the table talking and eating. Izzie stood up.

"I would like to make a toast…" She thought for a second. "To everyone here. I'm so glad to actually have the entire family here this year. So to… the family." Izzie said shrugged.

"To the family." Everyone said taking a drink. Christina tried to bring the glass of wine to her mouth but Robert stopped her.

Meredith looked over at Mark and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She looked around at her family. At her kids. At her husband. At her brothers and her sisters. At her nephew. They really were one big family.

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**THE END!**

**Hope you all like it. **


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